England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
St Stephens by Saltash St Stephen

The Parish

The parish of St Stephens by Saltash lies in the extreme southeast of Cornwall forming a substantial stretch of the border with neighbouring Devon, here formed by the River Tamar. Whilst Saltash has long had its own chapel it only became licensed for marriages in 1881 so St Stephens also took the marriages for that town. Saltash sits at the first bridging point of the Tamar with Isambard Kingdom Brunel's iconic Royal Albert Railway Bridge bring joined by todays' A38 road bridge, the A38 connects Plymouth with Liskeard. Saltash is some 4 miles northwest of the Devon port of Plymouth with St Stephens by Saltash a further mile and a half southwest of the Tamar bridges. At the time of this transcript St Stephens by Saltash would have been a distinct small village of fewer than 300 folk whereas Saltash, itself, was already a substantial town.Given its position on the natural harbour of the Tamar's mouth it is not surprising that Saltash earned its living primarily from the sea, fishing was a major component of the local economy and coastal shipping of the local agricultural produce provided many with an income too, St Stephens by Saltash by contrast would have been almost entirely a pastoral farming community. Today Saltash has expanded westwards until the two are contiguous with Saltash spreading for over 2 miles westwards from the former port area. A tragedy for Saltash was its proximity to Plymouth's military dockland which resulted in major destruction in World War 2 bombing leaving much of the historic parts of the town destroyed. The arrival of Brunel's Great Western Railway saw a significant change in Saltash's role, with the improved road links it is nowadays almost part of the wider metropolitan area of Plymouth and many use it as a commuter base for the port and its associated industries & services. As a coastal settlement many small streams and rivulets drain the parish into the nearby Tamar or its side channel of the St Germans River. St Stephens by Saltash is sited at around 60 metres by the church whilst Saltash rises from sea level to that height, initially steeply then more gently, land continues to rise fairly gently westwards to reach a little over 110 metres within a few miles.Like many Cornwall parishes St Stephens by Saltash was quite large for one in southern England, covering 5,400 acres it would have supported close to 3,000 parishioners with almost half within the borough of Saltash. Neither St Stephens by Saltash not Saltash is mentioned in Domesday Book albeit the small manor of Trematon, within the confines of the wider parish, was a holding of Count Robert of Mortain offering 10 ploughs together with the usual pastures and woodland.

The Church

St Stephen's church sits appropriately enough on St Stephen's Hill within what is now a mere suburb of Saltash and surrounded by modern housing developments. The majority of the church's fabric dates from the Perpendicular period but Pevsner detects two distinct periods both within the same architectural era. Jointing is noted at the eastern end of the nave which indicates that it predates both of the substantial aisles that frame it. Since those aisles are from either late 15th or early 16th century the nave, itself, may be as much as a half century earlier. When the northern aisle was added the unusually placed tower was built to form its western end, the  position is most unusual since it sits at the western end of an aisle rather than the nave and sits against the western end of the nave, a curious decision which gives an asymmetry to the church. A similar difference in age is detected internally within the arcades, both perpendicular but the norther arcade is deemed to be older than the southern. Two major restorations took place within Victorian times, the first in 1872 was followed by one in 1895 which confused largely on that idiosyncratic tower.  Despite the relatively urban setting there is a small parking area immediately outside the gates and street parking nearby making for an easy visit. Metal gates alongside the substantial War Memorial lead into a churchyard that has few difficulties for the photographer.